The Survivors A Walking Dead FanFic
by omilly
Summary: *This FanFic has an OC in it before you all start complaining about me having an OC in it...* How would having an extra body on the team affect the storyline? Will people's true personalities come through? Relationships formed or destroyed? Different moments and events that are not shown on the show comics are explored, and moments created that cannot be forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

_I write about the moments not written, drawn and shown in the comics and on the show The Walking Dead. This is the first chapter of who knows how many._

_Chapter 1_ _(By Omilly)_

The sound of a gun being shot filled the air. Then loud voices. "No! No! No!" The grin on Andrea's face slid off. She threw the rifle to the ground and jumped of the RV. Dale followed her as fast as he could.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath as she sprinted out past the fences, and into the field. Shane and Rick were picking up a muddy and bloody Daryl. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Is he dead?"

"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick gave Andrea a quick glare, but that was the end of it. Shane on the other hand, didn't look away from Andrea, his frustration with her was as clear as day.

Glenn pointed to Daryl. "Look at him. What the hell happened? He's - he's wearing ears?"

Rick ripped the necklace of ears off around Daryl's neck and put them down his shirt, "Let's keep that to ourselves." He said quietly, looking at Hershel, and the others standing outside of the farmhouse.

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog was holding, a sopping wet, and bloody doll. They turned around to look, mouth's open. Shane glanced at Daryl, and started to pull him towards the house, so Rick had to follow.

The group was silent as they walked up to the farmhouse. "Rick! What the hell is going on?" Lori demanded. She was pissed.

But before Rick could answer Shane opened his mouth. "Andrea's trigger happy. All that sun from tanning on the RV got to her head." Andrea let out an angry sigh, and walked to the RV. She picked up the rifle she threw to the ground, and climbed up the ladder to the roof, to her usual spot. Dale followed her there like a lost puppy.

"Dad I'll go get a bed ready for Dar-," Maggie stopped. "What the hell?" She put her hands over her eyes to block the sun from her eyes, looking out into the distance.

"Maggie!" exclaimed Patricia.

Glenn moved to Maggie. "What's wrong?" She shook her head. "No, no. Look. Look at the gates."

Shane whipped his head around, gun ready. "Holy shit. Rick?"

"Girls take Daryl inside. Hershel keep everyone in the house." Hershel nodded at Rick's orders. "Please Hershel." He started heading towards the gates, pulling his gun out from his holder attached to his belt. "Shane, Glenn, T-Dog. Let's go!"

The four men walked down the dirt path that led to the brittle gates that kept the outside world out from this haven they all now call home. They stopped just short of the gates, keeping their distance from a parked ambulance. Rick looked at Shane, and he nodded. "Can we help you?" Rick shouted, his gun pointed towards the driver side's door. It opened, and a pair of small black boots stepped out.

"I don't mean harm." It was a woman's voice. Her hand wrapped around the door and it was closed shut. Empty hands above her head "I don't mean harm please." T-Dog put his gun in his belt, and Glenn mimicked him. "I just need help, and I want to help you." Rick licked his lips, and then put his gun down as well. Shane still had his aimed, eyebrows furrowed.

T-Dog grabbed Shane's shoulder. "What you gonna do, kill a woman? Put it down." Shane scowled, and lowered his gun. The woman stepped a little closer to the fence.

"My name's Beth. I'm a paramedic. I have medical supplies, some food, a couple weapons, a vehicle..well, obviously..."

"We value your skill more then anything." Rick said. He noticed she looked panicked.

"I just need people. I can't do it anymore. It's only been my kid and I for this whole -,"

"You have a kid?" Glenn interrupted, surprised. The woman looked young to have a child.

"Yeh. He's in the there, sleeping." She pointed behind her, to the passenger's side.

Glenn gave Rick a look, and stepped towards him, whispering " We've got the room. And Daryl sure as hell needs her help."

Rick nodded fast, "I know. But it's not our farm. We need to respect Hershel and his family."

"What if that was Lori and Carl, Rick? You'd want them to be safe, right?" Shane said, to Rick surprise. He thought Shane wouldn't be up to accepting a newcomer. Rick let out a breath, but before he could say or do anything Glenn spoke.

"Well right know I'm protecting everyone. We all need her. We only have one person who can help us medically, and Hershel already has his hands full. I'm opening the gate Rick." Glenn walked to the gate, his shoulders square, serious. T-Dog joined him, and they pulled the gates back, leaving them wide open. Glenn shook her hand, and introduced himself and T-Dog.

"Thank you so much. I'll do everything I can I promise."

"Actually, there is something you could do now. One of our guys got in a bit of trouble today, he could use the help." said Shane.

"Yeh sure. Let me just get my boy and my bag, and you can bring me up to the house." She crossed over the front of the ambulance and opened the passenger side door.

"Rick." Shane said. "You okay about this?"

"Of course I am. I just, I don't want to overstay our welcome here. You know we already have that issue with Hershel."

"We need her Rick. So does Hershel. He'll get it. He'll have too." They heard a the door slam and looked over at Beth, and the toddler in her arms. Rick couldn't help his mouth from opening. How did she do it? Raise a toddler in a time like this?

"This is Micah." She looked down at the little boy in her arms, and beamed. She stroked his cheek to wake him up a bit more. Glenn looked back to see Rick's face.

Rick and Shane walked up towards Beth and Micah, both with matching expressions. Rick spoke softly."Hey buddy. I'm Rick, and this - this is Shane. We're gonna help you now. We're your friends." Rick looked at Beth when he said this. But Micah and her both smiled either way.

"Come on, I'll bring you up to the house. Glenn can you park the ambulance up near the RV?" Shane started walking up the path with Beth.

Glenn watched Shane and Beth walk up the hill, Shane had one hand on Beth's back, the other playing with Micah's hand. "Sure he's pretty happy he put the gun down now." He rolled his eyes at T-Dog.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 (By Omilly)_

"I see that there has been an addition to your group Rick." Hershel was in the kitchen, being handed bandages by Maggie.

"Sir, this is Beth and Micah. Beth is a paramedic, she has supplies." Rick explained.

"Perfect. I needed supplies, and I didn't want to have to send Maggie in to town again." Hershel traded the box of bandages into his left hand and shook Beth's hand. "Name's Hershel, welcome to the farm you two." He looked down at Micah in her arms.

"Now there's two Beth's 'round her." Maggie turned around, and flashed Beth a quick smile.

"Is there someone you could give your boy to for while we work on Daryl?" asked Hershel, sounding a little impatient.

"Umm, he is used to it. And he's quiet too. He'll be okay in the room." Beth held onto Micah a little tighter.

"Sure." Hershel gave her a small smile. They passed through the wooden arch, and down through the hallway. He waited until he was out of earshot from the others in the house to say, "I want to tell you somethin' miss. There's somethin' about this group. They're a danger magnet, but they always pull through in the end. My family needs you, and your skills. But I don't need the rest of them."

"I'm just grateful that my son and I have a place to sleep sir." Beth said to the old man, and opened the door to the bedroom. Only a lamp was on, shining onto the bloody side of a man. Beth shifted Micah onto her hip, and bent over, looking over at the bottles and pills that had been placed on the night table.

"Slim pickings we have here. We've been running low for a while after Carl." Hershel said, closing the door quietly behind them. Beth raised her eyebrow. "Rick's boy- he was shot. It's bad still. He could probably use your help too. But like I said, they always pull through."

Beth put Micah down on a flower print chair in the corner of the room and kissed him on the forehead, "Go back to sleep hun." She looked at him for a few seconds longer, before putting her bag on the bed. She carefully moved the sheet off of the man to get a look at his wounds. "I was a paramedic, so I like to move fast. You okay with that?" Hershel nodded, and moved the rest of the sheets off of the bed. Beth pushed his shirt up, and moved her hands gently up and down the man's side and back. "Broken rib. Maybe two. And pulled muscles." She grabbed a bottle of saline from her bag, and began to clean the wound. "Where'd you get your experience from?"

"I'm a veterinarian." Hershel said.

"Well, you must have been a damn good veterinarian." Beth laughed.

Hershel chucked quietly, but he spoke with a serious tone. "Decent enough to save that boy. And patch up all these folks."

Beth looked down awkwardly, scratching the side of her face. "Do you, uh, know what happened to this guy?"

"All I know is that he took one of my horses without permission and that he was shot accidentally by Andrea. But it looks like the wound in his back was caused by one of them arrows he always uses." He took the dirty rag from Beth's hand. "I'll go get one of the girls to wash this. And get my kit for stitches. You start on his face?"

"Yeh sure." She grabbed a small package, and tore it opened to reveal a small disposable wet cloth. She unfolded it, making it into a large, thin square.

Hershel hesitated at the door, "This one is a bit independent. Likes to keep to himself from what I've seen. Just so you know."

"I'll be good." She gave Hershel a smile, right before he closed the door. She tied her hair back, to get it out of her face. Leaning over his side, being careful to not touch the wound, Beth tried to clean the small graze from the bullet on his face. The angle was to awkward though, and she just couldn't reach it. She moved around to the left side of the bed, bringing her kit with her. At this angle was able to reach and clean the graze. Grabbing a bandage from her bag, she sat on the bed carefully, trying to not wake him up. Leaning over, she placed the small bandage on his cut.

Beth got a good look at his face. He looked tired, really tired. The rest of his face was covered in fresh scratches, old scars and a heavy stubble. She decided to leave him, so he could get some needed rest. Putting her right hand down to brace herself, she pushed herself off of the bed. But the sudden shift in weight caused him to jolt and wake up.

His hands flinched, almost into fists when he saw Beth standing there. He looked the young woman up and down, and relaxed his hands. Looking around him at the bed, he moved to sit up.

"Don't sit up. You haven't been stitched yet." warned Beth. He didn't listen to her, and let out a small sound of pain as he arranged himself so that he could be propped up. Beth shook her head, "You broke a rib and pulled muscles, other then the obvious hole in your back. What happened to you?"

"Stupid horse got spooked. Bucked me off down the side of a cliff. Lost all my arrows, well except for one." He said bitterly.

"Where does getting shot fit in to that story?" Beth had started putting the extra bandages and bottles back into her bag.

"I have no idea. Probably Andrea on watch or something, trying to prove herself." He felt for where the bullet had hit him, but the pressure made it start bleeding again. Beth handed him the rag in her hand.

He folded it over, and pressed it to his temple. "Who are you anyway?"

"Beth. Your group is letting me stay, in exchange for medical help, supplies. I figured that would be the first thing you would ask."

"I guess I figured you took care of me while I was unconscious, so no reason to get pissed off. And Hershel let you in the house, so you must be okay." He moved the rag down for a second, looking at the blood and then put it back. "I'm Daryl."

Beth gave him a smile, and turned over her shoulder, to look at the chair in the corner. Micah was sleeping, his body folded and his face squished on the arm chair. "That's my boy, Micah." She so badly wanted to grab him and cradle him on her chest, but she let him sleep.

Daryl looked at the two for a second, a small family. "That's why your here." Daryl said, pointing to Micah.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You must be a miracle. Raising a boy that young in a world like this. You're strong." Just as he said that Hershel opened the door, kit in hand.

"Good you're awake. Rick and Shane want you to show them on the map where you searched today. I'll just stitch you up as we do so." He put the kit down where Beth was just sitting a minute before. "Can you go get 'em miss?"

"Uh, yeh sure." She carefully picked up Micah, and left the room without looking at either of the two men. She looked around the house. Everything seemed almost like the world had never even changed. Photos on the wall, linen closets, tacky decor. She turned the corner and heard a woman talking loudly, she followed the voice and found herself in a kitchen. There was a bunch of women cutting vegetables, and cleaning dishes.

Beth recognized one of them as Maggie. One of them turned around, "Beth right? Rick told me about you. I'm Lori." The woman tucked her hair behind her ear, and put out her hand. Beth shook it. "And that's Micah?" All the women smiled at the toddler sleeping soundly in Beth's arms. Beth looked around behind them, trying to see if Rick or Shane was in there.

"You busy? Maybe you should come back later, help with dinner?"

"Yeh sure, I just have to find Rick and Shane." Beth said, looking behind her in the dining room.

"My husband is on the porch." Lori said a little bitterly as she grabbed a bunch of carrots and placing them on to a cutting board.

"Thanks. I'll be back." Across the living room, the front doors were wide open, revealing the white porch, and four men crowded around on it. Shane and Rick were leaning up against the deck railing, talking with T-Dog and a young man.

"Hershel said that she's like a miracle worker. Got Daryl cleaned up, and bandaged in no time." Rick exclaimed, leaning his chin on his folded hands.

"Yeh, and she's not to bad on the eyes either eh Jimmy?" Shane nudged the young man on the side, and laughed quietly.

"Daryl's awake by the way boys." Beth said. Shane turned around his smirk sliding off of his face, which was quickly replaced with embarrassment. "See you at dinner."

As she turned back into the house towards the kitchen, she heard a roar of laughter followed by a quick and southern, "Oh, shut up!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3 __(By Omilly)_

"Oh gosh. You need a place to sleep." Maggie exclaimed, almost dropping the pots of potatoes on the way to the oven.

"No, no, no. It's ok. We have sleeping bags and blankets in the ambulance." Beth said, shaking her head.

"Okay.." Maggie said hesitantly. "But I'll find somewhere more permanent as soon as possible ok?" Beth nodded and smiled at Maggie. "We need to figure out something to do with this double name situation to hey Beth?"

"What?" Both Beth's questioned Maggie, and then laughed at the sudden realization of the confusion of having the same name.

"Just call me Bee. Remember when you and Dad called me that when I was little?"

Maggie smiled, her cheeks making her eyes squint. "Okay... Bee." She poked her sister in the side, teasing her.

Lori came back from the bathroom, "Was Daryl alright by the way? I haven't heard anything from any of the guys."

"Yeh, he'll be up and about in once his stitches settle." Beth said, "I'm going to go check on him in a bit later, bring him some dinner in."

"I think they are just about done in there actually. I'm gonna go wait for Rick." Lori said with a weak smile, trying to disguise the worried look that is constantly on her face.

"So where is Micah's father?" asked Patricia.

"Patricia! Rude?" Maggie gave her a dirty look.

"No it's ok. I lost all my family before this all happened. Micah's dad didn't want a kid, and my family didn't want a daughter who had a kid out of wedlock. So either way Micah and I are dead to them, end of the world or not." Beth said, pursing her lips.

"Well, you have people here who want you alive. We need you now, both of you two." said Maggie, grabbing Beth's shoulder.

Beth gave her a weak smile and started taking out a stack of plates from the cabinets. An overwhelming feeling of home sickness washed over Beth as she carried the mixed match plates to the dining room, and set them on a cabinet near the table. Beth heard footsteps follow her as she went into the kitchen to grab a box of cutlery.

Lori walked backed into the kitchen, "Is there anything I can do?" Her voice sounded hoarse, her eyebrows low.

"You can come set the table with me? Or I think Bee, " Beth felt silly saying the name, "is just getting in the table cloth and napkins from the hanging. "

"I'll go help her then." Lori said, sounding a bit cross.

Beth nodded, a little confused but she didn't mind anyways. She looked at Micah, content on the rug. Beth left him there, and went into the dining room, putting the box of knives and forks onto the side table, next to the cabinet. She glanced back at Micah every so often, but she tried to focus on getting the right amount of cutlery.

Heavy footsteps came by, and Beth looked up to see Shane, nostrils flared, eyebrows furrowed. "Shane?" Beth asked, a bit wary.

His looked up and his shoulders lowered when he saw her, "Oh Beth, hi."

"You ok?"

"Yeh. Yeh, I'm fine. Your, uh, your little buddy wants you though." Shane pointed to Micah, who was walking on his tip toes towards Beth, hands up in the air. Beth turned around and picked him up, and started talking to him in a soft voice.

Shane turned around and looked out at porch to see Andrea sitting on the porch stairs, her shoulders hunched forward. "Who's on duty?" Shane asked loudly.

"Glenn." Andrea answered, her voice cracked.

Shane stood beside her, leaning up against the railing, breathing loudly through his nostrils. "Either way you did something wrong Andrea. If it was a zombie you missed. If you hadn't a missed you would have killed Daryl."

Andrea whipped around. "I know that Shane. What do you think I've been freakin' thinking all day?"

"Well, maybe you should think every once and a while! Jesus." Shane jumped over the banister, and walked away from the porch, just as Dale walked out of the house.

"Guys, suppers ready!" called Maggie from inside.

"Come on Andrea, let's go eat." Dale said, grabbing Andrea's arm tenderly. Not everyone was inside yet, but those who were were settling into their seats at the dining tables.

Beth had just picked up Micah, and went and sat at the bigger of the two tables set up, placing her boy on her lap. "This feels weird. Thinking about mundane thoughts like dinner, and laundry. After all this time. I'll have to get used to it."

Glenn sat down at the other table, next to Maggie smiling, "Oh, once you do it's like heaven." Beth smiled at him, and started playing with Micah's hands.

Everyone started coming inside to eat, sitting down next to their friends, or some if they were lucky enough their family. Shane sat across from Beth, and Carol to the left of her. Everyone was at the table and ready to eat. Everyone except for Lori.

Rick went to stand up, but Carol gently pushed him back down into his seat. "I'll go.'" And she headed down the very same hallway that Daryl was staying in. A few made hesitant glances to Rick, who had his hands folded on the table, and his forehead pressed to them. Carol came back first, and was then followed by a red faced Lori.

Dinner was delicious. Beth hadn't had a meal like this in years, never mind since the end of the world. Micah couldn't get enough of all the new people too, smiling and grabbing hands. But never talking. Beth explained that he knew how to talk, but he was just a quite kid. After he settled down, conversation died down completely. Glenn tried to break the silence but nobody wanted to catch on. Hershel finally broke the silence.

"Beth, where'd you and Micah come from? Not from around here are you?"

Beth finished swallowing her food. "Um, Canada. The winters there are too cold for anything, so I decided the South would be better."

"But the cold would kill the zombies wouldn't it?" asked Glenn.

"It would kill the humans too though without proper heatin'." Shane explained, as he scooped some food onto his fork. Beth nodded in agreement.

Rick looked at Beth, questioning, "But how have you survived, just you two?" Everyone else looked up from their plates. They had all been dying to ask the question, but none had been brave enough.

"Always on the move. I didn't stop. The ambulance protected us the most, kept us safe." Beth said. She wouldn't look away from her dinner. "I was on duty, during the original outbreak. Calls were going off on the talkie like crazy, about symptoms at first. But then it changed to go home, protect our families. I dropped my team off at their homes, and I went home and got Micah from the babysitter. I grabbed basics, and we left. Took the ambulance with us, figured that there wouldn't be nobody there who would need it." She sighed and dropped her fork onto her plate. Her appetite suddenly gone.

"I couldn't stay there if I wanted to protect Micah. I couldn't." She had put her chin on Micah's head, her hands knitted together on the table. Shane grabbed her hands, but she didn't look up. Everyone was quiet, except for Rick who was whispering to Lori and the sounds of knifes and forks on plates.

"I'm gonna check on Daryl, bring him some dinner. Could you watch Micah?" Shane nodded, and took the toddler out of Beth's hands, holding him awkwardly. Beth went into the kitchen and piled some potatoes, peas and ham onto a large blue plate and placed it in the oven to warm it up slightly.

She walked into hallway, and hesitated outside of Daryl's door. She took a moment before knocking, he had called her strong, it would be stupid to ruin that impression already. She knocked quietly and opened the door. He was laying on his side still, back to the door. "I just came to put on some bandages, check on your ribs."

"Ok." He said, moving the sheets down, revealing his naked upper body. His shirt must had been taken off while Hershel stitched up his side. Beth sat down on the bed, and began unrolling bandages.

"I heard your story." Daryl said, turning around as far as he could so he could see her face.

"Yeh, well we are here now right. We've all been through it to get here." She said shortly, trying to keep it together. Daryl knew that face and tone, so he went back on his side again.

Once the bandages were unraveled, she touched his side gently to begin wrapping it. Daryl jumped slightly at her touch. "Sorry, did that hurt?" He shook his head, and closed his eyes. She wrapped the bandage around his side carefully and quietly. Neither of them said anything.

"Okay, just your head now please." Daryl rolled over onto his back, and tried to prop himself up. Beth grabbed his hand and arm, and helped him up.

As Beth started wrapping his forehead, Daryl asked, "Did they find you two a place to stay?"

His hand absently started touching his side. "Don't rub at it," she said, "And kind of. I have a makeshift bed in the ambulance for now."

"Right, paramedic." He said, just as Beth finished wrapping his head. "Well, I hope you and Micah have a good night." He sounded sincere.

"Thanks. You too. Oh, I got a plate of dinner for you if you want -," But the door opened and Carol was holding a tray with the blue plate and a glass of water on it. Beth bit the inside of her lip. "I guess I should go get Micah then." And she left room suddenly as she had a mere three hours before.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4 __(By Omilly)_

Glenn woke up in a cold sweat. He unzipped his tent, and looked around at the others - still zipped closed. He quietly climbed out, stretched his back and put his baseball cap on his head. He looked out onto the roof of the RV, and waved to Dale, who was sitting on a green lawn chair, a rife on his lap.

Then he saw the ambulance parked next to it. He almost forgot about yesterday. The addition was so weirdly fast, but yet so natural. It was necessary.

The ambulance doors were open at the back, and he could see two legs hanging down, swinging. He headed towards the ambulance, avoiding looking at the barn. Beth had Micah cradled against her chest, he was still sleeping soundlessly. She greeted Glenn as he walked up.

"Hey, you two sleep well?" Glenn asked. Beth shook her head. "How come?"

"Well he did. I didn't. Worried sick." She scratched her head, and then slid her hand down to rub her neck with one hand, the other keeping Micah tight to her body.

"What do you have to be worried about now? You have all these people around you, helping you. You're safe." Glenn found it a little hard to say that, after what he saw the night before in the barn.

"I know. It's just - what if something happens? And we can't stay here or... Already I'm friends with all of you. I can't abandon you guys, like I had to back home Glenn." Her voice was sad, but her face was blank.

Glenn joined her on the edge of the ambulance. "I did the same thing you know. I was with this group, of about 10. Kids in there too. And I just left." He rubbed his hands together. "But you're here, and he's here too," He said pointing to the sleeping Micah, "And that's all that matters ok? And anyways, Maggie likes you. She was getting a bit annoyed of the other girls." Glenn laughed, and made Beth's blank face turn into a smiling one.

"So, why are you up so early?" She asked, rubbing Micah's back slightly. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Uh, yeh. I'm gonna go trade off with Dale for watch." Glenn said awkwardly, and left Beth sitting in confusion.

She watched Glenn and Dale exchange a quick handshake, and then Dale climbed down the ladder and into the RV. Beth looked behind her at the small campsite set around some trees. Containers of supplies were piled around, and a clothesline full of clean, dry clothes hung between two of the trees. That reminded Beth of the dirty ones that her and Micah were wearing. Reaching back to the green duffel bag shoved next to the door, she grabbed some fresh clothes for them.

Beth carried Micah silently past the campsite, and up to the porch. The door creaked when she opened it, and she made a face at the noise.

"Morning." It was Hershel, a small red toolbox in his hands.

"Hi, I just came in to change." Beth showed Hershel the handful of clothes in her hand.

"No problem, I'll show you where the bathroom is." He said, sliding the toolbox onto the counter, wiping his hands on his jeans. They made small talk as they walked down the hallway, making sure to talk quietly so they did not wake anyone up. Hershel brought her up a set of wooden stairs with a floral rug running up the middle of them. "Bathroom's on the right."

"Thank you sir." She turned the knob and flicked the lights to reveal white walls, and a dull bulb. She placed Micah on the rug, who by now had woken up from all the movement. Clicking the door closed, Beth changed Micah first. He wiggled his feet at the feeling of the new, soft blue socks. He then sat contently staring around the small room.

Beth took the moment to quickly replace her dirty jeans with a pair of tan corduroys. The feeling of the soft fabric was like a breath of fresh air. She slowly drew off the sticky black shirt she wore, and threw it to the floor. Beth rubbed her face and then glanced a look at the mirror over her shoulder. A flash of tan skin and red was all she saw before she whipped her head back around. Pursing her lips she looked again to see a large patch of road rash covering almost all of her back. A memory flashed, but Beth shook if off, and put on a loose gray shirt.

Micah was startled at a loud thud that came from downstairs. "Mama?" His voice was little, scared. Beth opened the door cautiously, and craned her neck to get a look down the stairs.

"Beth?" It was a whisper, husky yet soft.

She picked up Micah and stepped out into the hallway. Daryl was at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall. "What are ya' doing?" She asked, she took the stairs step by step.

"I heard you talking when you walked by my room. Figured you could help me get back to my tent." Daryl's eyes were to the floor the whole time he asked the question.

"Yeh sure."

"I tried by myself. But even getting off the bed was hard." Daryl grabbed Beth's outstretched arm, and held onto her forearm. "I won't push hard. I just - I need help, just incase." It sounded hard to say for him.

Beth didn't say anything, and just lead him down the hallway, trying to balance out the weight of Micah on her hip and Daryl's light push on her arm. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"I've been up for a couple of hours. But I couldn't do anything."

"You could have called out?" suggested Beth. Daryl gave her a look , and grabbed on to her arm a little tighter as they walked down the porch stairs.

The sun was fully up once they got outside, but everyone was still inside their tents. "Which one is yours?" Beth asked. Daryl pointed over near the side of the house, to a lonesome tent. Not surprised, she led the way towards it.

A quick unzip, and the tent was open. There was a cot in the corner with mix-matched sheets, and some clothes stuffed underneath it. Daryl's crossbow laid at the bottom of the bed. But other then that the tent was empty. Beth slide her arm down so that Daryl was holding onto her hand for support. She was then able to bend over and put Micah down on the tarp floor.

After a lot of sharp breaths, and moaning Daryl was on his bed. He lied there, with his eyes closed for a second before he spoke. "I don't know why I'm being such a pussy."

"You fell down the side of a cliff, got an arrow in the back, and then got shot. So yeh, you should stop being a pussy." She gave him a sarcastic look. "I should change your bandages. I'll go get my kit." She went to leave the tent, "Oh, is it okay if I leave Micah here? It will be fas-"

"S'ok. Go ahead." He looked over at Micah, who was staring at where his mom had just left.

"Hi." Daryl said awkwardly. He had rarely been around kids before, never mind a toddler. "I'm, uh, Daryl."

Micah looked at him questioningly, and pushed himself up off of the tarp. "Dawyl?" His little voice pronounced the R as a W. Daryl couldn't help but laugh. "Dawyl." Micah said reaching out his hands.

Daryl hesitated and then took his hands, carefully pulling Micah on to the cot, more concerned about Micah then the pain he felt as he did it. Little hands felt the soft blanket, a small smile spreading across both Micah's and Daryl's faces.

A crunch of a footstep on the tarp, and Beth was back. "Well there's Mr Social." She unzipped the kit, and crouched down next to the cot. Tapping the ground she said, "Come sit down Micah." Micah slide down, his toes pointed as he tried to find the ground.

The bandages around Daryl's side were cut off and tossed aside. Before Beth wrapped the stitches with new ones, she ran her fingers over them. Daryl looked at the the family again, admiring them as Rick came into the tent.

"Hey Daryl, how ya' feeling?"

"Better now that I'm in here." Daryl answered, who was now watching Beth's hands.

"Good to hear. Beth, I was wondering if you could," Rick hesitated, "Come check on Carl? Hershel he's busy and -."

"Rick, I'll do it. You don't have to explain yourself." She rolled up the already dwindling roll of bandages and put it in her bag. "It might be easier to sleep now Daryl, so try to just for a bit."

He nodded to her, and stretched his arm behind his head, and closed his eyes. He heard the zip of the tent closing, and then the sound of steps walking away. And he was alone. Again.


	5. Chapter 5

_Please keep in mind that these chapters are moving at a slower pace as the episodes. This story is more of a day to day progression, unlike the TV episodes. Thanks!_

_Chapter 5 __(By Omilly)_  


Beth looked over her shoulder at Micah sitting on the floral couch with Maggie just one more time before she walked into the bedroom. The room felt sad with a dull table lamp, and boring wallpaper. Lori was sitting on a wooden chair, a handkerchief clutched in her hand. Beth swallowed, and put her bag down on the bed.

In the past two days, all that she had been doing was patching people up. Her supplies was already beginning to slowly dwindle, and she know understood what Hershel had meant by "danger magnet". But she did not regret anything. In the past two days she had never felt more apart of a family, other then her team back home.

"Anything?" Beth asked.

Lori shook her head and gently moved the sheets off of Carl's chest. A large white bandage covered his lower upper body. Beth grabbed her stethoscope, and began listening to Carl's steady heart beat. She worked quietly after, feeling Lori's eyes watching her intently.

"He's good." Beth said, after several long moments. "Hershel's been doing a fine job."

"Do you know when he'll be able to stay awake for a while?" Lori asked, her eyes red from the crying.

"Whenever his body is ready." Beth said, her lips pursed. She didn't know where to look, Lori's pained face and Carl lying in the bed made her feel sick to the stomach. Just then Rick walked into the room, his eyes low. Relieved at his appearance she said, "I'll leave you guys for a bit." She pushed her bag underneath the bed, and left the room quickly.

Maggie was still on the couch with Micah, but was now joined by her sister. They both beamed at Micah as he played with Bee's long blonde hair. "Could you guys watch him for a bit longer? I didn't sleep very well and -."

But Maggie interrupted her, and repeated the very words that she had said to Rick just hours early. "You don't have to explain yourself. We'll be in here."

Beth smiled at them, and walked out to the front porch. She let out a big breath of air once she got outside. Shane was just coming up the path to the house, looking down at the ground. "Hey." Beth said. Shane looked up with a grin.

"Just the person I was looking for. You know how to shoot?" He was on the porch now, leaning up against a wooden column. Beth nodded with a bit of a cheeky smile on her face.

"Well, want some target practice? I'm taking some of the others down to the fence line." He pointed down to the RV, were a few people were standing.

Beth felt so overtired, but she didn't want to miss out on a chance like this. "Yeah sure. Let's go." Shane and her walked quickly down to met the others.

"Beth, you comin'?" It was T-Dog. Beth nodded and looked to see who else was there. Jimmy, Patricia, Andrea and Carol. She gave Beth a weak smile, and then crossed her arms over her chest.

"Andrea why are you here? I thought you could shoot?" Beth asked, a little confused.

Andrea scowled. "Shane says I need to practice more before I can go on watch again. So here I am."

Just as she finished saying that Shane walked out of the RV, a black duffel bag in his hands. He glanced at Andrea, then to Beth. He raised his eyebrows in a funny way. "Okay guys, I used to be a firearms instructor. So Rick and I figured that I could teach a couple of you, see how it goes. And then later on I'll bring everyone down again. Ok?"

Everyone nodded there heads, and began following Shane down through the field.

They reached a white fence with empty glass bottles already put on the top of the posts. Shane began handing out 9mm handguns to the four people waiting in a line away from the fence. When Beth got her's she let it sit in her hand. She hadn't held a gun in years, and it sickened her that it almost felt comfortable in her hands.

Shane yelled out instructions like they were his first language, his voice loud and the southern drawl in it coming out slightly more then usual. He then moved back away from the fence to watch. As soon as he was at a safe distance Andrea fired. Bang. And a green glass bottle had exploded.

"Yeah, yeah I get it. Don't waste the bullets then." Shane said, shaking his head. She smirked, and gave him the handgun. "You still have to come to the next practice though."

"Yeah whatever Shane." Andrea called.

"Bitch." Shane murmured and then turned around to watch the others, his arms crossed. T-Dog was shooting fine, but because of his arm he tended to shoot more towards one side. Carol was a disaster, she was shaking like a leaf. But Beth still hadn't fired.

"I thought you said you knew how to shoot?" Shane asked loudly, his tone slightly sarcastic.

"I do. I just might be a little rusty. Don't want to you judge me." Beth replied.

Shane came up behind Beth and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, so that he was holding the gun as well. "It's easy. Just aim, and then," He paused, took a breath and said, "Pull the trigger."

Bang. A wine bottle was gone, blown into small pieces of glass.

Shane took his hands away, but they lingered at her waist.

"Thanks." Beth said sarcastically, but the smile on her face gave it away. "But I don't need to be babysat." Beth aimed for the farthest wine bottle and barely paused before she pulled the trigger. Bang. And another bottle was blown to bits.

Shane grinned. "There you go." He then walked over to help Carol, who had barely shot the gun twice.

Beth figured she had proven herself enough, and sat down on the grass, leaning up against the fence. She closed her eyes, the inside of her eyelids turning pink from sun that was beating down on her. It was almost peaceful for a moment, sunny, quiet. If she closed her eyes long enough, it would almost be like there was nothing wrong with world. But Beth suddenly realized that it was quiet, and opened her eyes to see why the gun firing had stopped.

Shane was talking to quietly to Carol, who was standing with her hands out in front her, the gun on the grass. T-Dog was hesitantly watching them, not sure if he should interrupt. Then suddenly Carol raised her voice, something that nobody had heard before.

"What's the point of all of this anyways?!"

But before Shane could open his mouth, T-Dog spoke calmly. "We need to be able to protect ourselves Carol."

"I can't even protect my daughter. What's the point of learning how to protect myself?!" Carol stormed away, sobbing.

"Carol!" T-Dog called after her. When she didn't respond, he put down his handgun and chased after her. Beth eyes followed them as they crossed through the field.

With a heavy sigh, Shane plopped down next to Beth. Adjusting his baseball cap he said, "Well that wasn't exactly how I wanted to get you alone, but oh well."

Beth looked over, expecting a cheeky smile or a wink. But instead all she saw was a serious look. "Shane?"

He looked her straight in the eyes, and then sheepishly looked down. "How did you learn to shoot?" He changed the subject awkwardly.

"My ex used to take me to the shooting range all the time. He was a cop, so I guess he wanted to make sure that I could protect myself."

Shane let out a short laugh. "Same thing I thought when I went to ask you to come practice today."

"Must be a cop thing." Beth said. She looked at Shane again, searching his face one more time, before she closed her eyes again letting the sun beam on her face.

Shane didn't speak for a bit, just staring at his hands that sat in his lap. He had never felt like this, even when he was in high school. He was always confident then, never questioning, shy or embarrassed. But right now, he felt nervous. Everything needed to be worded right, it couldn't be ruined. He needed this. She needed this. He just knew it.

"Thank you by the way." Beth interrupted his train of thought. She only had one eye barely open, and it was squinting, trying to keep the sunlight out of her eyes.

"For what?" Shane asked, bewildered at what he had even done to deserve a thanks.

"You were there at the gates. You let me in. I owe you a lot." Beth had placed her hands on the ground, and was starting to push herself off of the grass.

"It was nothing."

"No. It was everything." Beth kissed Shane on the cheek lightly, and turned away from him. She didn't hesitate, or look back, she just started walking up the dirt path through the grass field.

Shane rubbed his cheek, forcing only the smallest of smiles onto his face.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

Laughter came from one of the room's down the hallway, as Beth carried Micah down the stairs from the washroom. The door was open a crack, she peered in but she couldn't see anything. Curious of who was inside, Beth knocked.

"Come in." It was Lori. But the usual melancholy tone in her voice was gone. It had been replaced by what sounded like joy.

Beth pushed the door open to reveal Carl, pretending to have a shoot out with his dad. Rick was kneeling down, so that he was eye level with him. "Wow, when did this happen?"

"This morning." Carl said with a smile.

Beth remembered that just 2 days ago, Carl had finally fully woken up and was able to sit up by himself. The next day he could stand. And now he was walking and playing. His recovery was accelerating like nothing either Hershel or Beth had seen before.

"Do you think I can go to the target practice then?" Carl asked excitedly. He looked to his mom first, and then Beth.

"I don't see why not," Rick said. "Partner." He pulled the tip of the cowboy hat on Carl's head playfully.

Beth looked at both of their smiles, stretched across their entire faces. Then she saw Lori's face, full of concern. "Let's just do those stretches again first though. Ok Carl?"

Carl gave a little sigh first, but then put his left arm up in the air, over top of his head. He held it there for a few seconds before switching to the right. Then both. He then bent over, like he was going to stretch his toes and then back up and stretched out his back.

Beth put Micah down on the edge of the bed, and knelt down beside Rick. She felt all across Carl's stomach, feeling for a rip in any stitches. There was nothing. Beth gave a nod to Lori, and the look of concern wiped off of her face.

"Well Sheriff, I will see you at outside." Beth smiled.

Once at the end of the hallway, Beth didn't even have to go outside to tell that it wasn't raining anymore. All of the sleeping bags and blankets in the living room had been cleaned up, and all the bodies that had been sleeping in them the night before were outside.

Early in the morning, the day before, it had started pouring outside, so everyone ran inside the farmhouse and Shane's shooting lesson was post-poned . The bedrooms on the lower floor had been taken by Carl and Daryl, who was moved inside much to his chagrin. So everyone was crowded around, sitting on the rug in the living room or leaning up against the kitchen counters. Hershel was not impressed at the sight, but Maggie and Bee kept him calm.

Beth smiled as she remembered how Shane refused to leave Micah and her's side for almost the entire day, and the only time he did was when he ran out in the rain to get something out of the ambulance for her. It felt weird to have somebody who so desperately wanted to help her.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Andrea. "Everyone is already down at the fence line. Shane sent me to come and get you." Her voice sounded bitter when she said his name.

"Oh okay. Let me just give Micah to Maggie, be back in a sec." Beth switched Micah over to her hip, and jogged to the kitchen.

Maggie and Bee weren't doing there usual morning chores, but were going through big cardboard boxes that sat on counter.

"Whatcha guys doing?" Beth asked as she put Micah down on the tiled floor.

Maggie and Bee's expressions looked like those of children who were caught doing something naughty. "Uh, nothing. You need us to look after Micah now?"

"Yeh," Beth said, a little suspicious of the two. "The group is already down at the fence so I guess I better be going."

"Mhm! We'll watch Micah till you get back." Bee was being as awkwardly as her sister had been.

Shaking her head, Beth ran back to Andrea who had already started walking. They walked in silence together. Anger was radiating off of Andrea, so Beth spoke. "Shane means well Andrea."

She glared at Beth. "How would you know that?"

"Because I talk to him. Something that nobody else seems to even think about. He is just doing what he thinks is right for the group. Give him a chance."

Andrea's faced lightened and her hunched shoulders dropped. She pursed her lips and nodded, looking down at the moving grass.

The entire group was down at the fence line now, shooting bottles. Even those with experience. Glen was shooting like it was a carnival game. Carol was standing back, jumping slightly at almost every fire. Lori was firing next to Carl, glancing at him between shots.

"You're a good shot Carl." Beth said, who had taken the spot next to the two. "You must have gotten it from your daddy eh?"

"Or his Mama." Lori said, and fired, hitting a tin can in front of her square in the middle.

Shane, Rick and T-Dog were watching the shooters, giving them tips. "Come on man, don't give me that gangster shit." T-Dog said to Jimmy, who was holding his gun like something you would see in the cheesy action movies. He put his gun upright, grasping it with two hands. T-Dog's advice worked and Jimmy finally hit a target.

Beth fired several times until she got a nod from Rick telling her she was good. Patricia and her traded off, and Beth went to stand next to a sitting Glenn, by a big oak tree.

"Long time, no talk Glenn."

Glenn looked up, squinting his eyes to see who it was. "Oh Beth, hey." He looked shifty, and nervous.

"Something on your mind?" Beth asked, as she slid her back down the tree and sat next to Glenn, who was shaking his head furiously. A shadow fell over the two as Shane marched past with Rick in tow, heading straight for Andrea. He didn't notice Glenn and Beth sitting down at the tree until he had moved beside Andrea. He gave Beth the quickest of smiles from the distance before he spoke.

"Don't be discouraged, you'll hit your target eventually."

"Who says I didn't hit my target." Andrea replied slyly.

Shane whipped his binoculars out of his hands and looked through them to find to bullet holes in the small red 'o' of the 'No Trespassing' sign. Rick raised his eyebrows at the sight.

Reaching for the gun, jammed at his waist line, Shane said, "Here try this one. It's heavy, got better balance, twice the rounds."

Andrea took the gun a little unwillingly, as she was pretty sure this was Shane's favorite gun. She gave Rick a little look, who nodded at her encouragingly.

Andrea squared her feet to her shoulders, and squinted one eye closed. She felt the weight of the gun in her hand, and instead of looking straight at the tin can she imagined what was behind and aimed for that. Bang. The bullet went straight through the tin can and blew it off the post, making a ringing noise as it hit the ground.

"I'd say she's got the hang off it." Shane laughed.

"I'd say she's ready for the advanced class." Rick said, joining in on the small laughter. "Might be worth your while after the rest of us head back to the camp." He said to Andrea, who was grinning like a fool.

"Yeh sure, why not."

Rick gave her a nod and then turned to watch Carl and Lori shoot for a while.

Shane looked down at his gun in Andrea's hands. "How's it feeling?"

"I like the weight." She said, squinting up at his face, trying to read it. She didn't know what to think about him. Yesterday she hated his guts, but now she felt special cause he gave her his own pistol.

He didn't say anything. Just looked out onto the field.

"So you decided not to leave us? Something changed your mind?" Andrea asked, her tone almost sarcastic. She tucked the gun into the waist band of her jeans and walked away.

Shane looked to Carl first, who was getting praise from Rick for his shooting as Lori stood back, watching with her arms crossed. Then he looked to Beth, sitting under the shade, her eyes closed and head against a tree. Eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, Shane looked back at the field, his mind racing.

Back at the farm house everyone was back to there usually tasks. Maggie and the girls were in the kitchen. Patricia was out tending the chickens and cow. Dale was on top of the RV, his hat casting a shadow over his eyes. Daryl was alone, stuck in his tent. Beth had Micah held against her hip, as she did as much as she could with only one hand.

Andrea was leaning up against Hyundai, waiting as patiently as she could. But the excitement of getting to go to the "advanced class", as Rick had called it, was getting to her.

She almost leapt up off the car when she saw Shane unfold his body out of his tent and zip it closed. A police cap covered his tanned head. He saw Andrea waiting in the car and clicked the doors unlocked with the key chain. Then he raised one finger, telling Andrea to wait one more second. She nodded and sat in the shotgun.

Shane had seen Beth come out of the house, out of the corner of his eye. He turned around just as she reached the camp, and grabbed his hat and tipped it down.

Beth let out a soft laugh at the action, and then spoke. "Hey Shane, I was just gonna find you to take you inside. T-Dog found a -"

"I, uh, I have to take Andrea out for more shooting actually." He interrupted.

"Oh." Beth said, a little taken a back by Shane's bitter tone. "Well, be safe. I guess." She turned away with her shoulders hunched high.

"Beth..." He reached out and grabbed her wrist gently. "Don't be like that." Shane had that feeling again, like he was 17 year old boy talking to one of his high school sweethearts.

He softly pulled at her arm turning her around. She stared at him, her lips in a small scowl.

Shane shook his head the tiniest bit, and let out what sounded like a little, happy sigh as he moved towards her face and kissed her.

It wasn't long, or passionate. Just a soft, innocent kiss.

He rubbed Micah's soft, brown hair and then walked away before Beth could even blink.


	7. Chapter 7

_Please keep in mind that these chapters are moving at a slower pace as the episodes. This story is more of a day to day progression, unlike the TV episodes. So not everything that happens in one episode will happen in one of my chapters. Thanks !_

Chapter 7

Andrea clicked the screen door quietly behind her. It had been three nights since her and Shane had had that long car ride home for target practice, and she still hadn't talked to him since then. And there he was helping Beth and Micah into his tent. His tent. For the third night in a row.

Andrea squinted her eyes at him in the darkness. She had no idea what was going on with him and Beth. Nobody did. Then he kissed Beth on the forehead, and then zipped the tent closed and turned back towards the fire.

She saw her chance to finally ask him what was going and she made her way to the small circle of tents. She sat down right next to him on the dirt, their knees touching. He moved awkwardly away from her.

Shane rolled his tongue in his lower lip. "So.."

"So, you tell me?" Andrea asked, her eyebrows raised.

Shane let out a heavy breath. "Nothing is going on."

"Oh really? Well to me it looks like you are trying to play daddy to Micah." Andrea said bitterly.

"Stop being like that." He said quietly, hoping she would match her voice to his.

"Stop being like what? You do that with me, and then you act like it never happened so you can play house with Beth?!"

He looked over his shoulder at his tent. "Lower your voice Andrea."

"No." She looked him sternly in the eyes.

"I know you're mad at me but you can't ruin this. Please."

"What, ruin your perfect little family?" Andrea's eye were glowing with anger. She used pushed herself off of the dirt, and stood up and walked away. She had had enough of his bullshit.

Untying the laces of his boots, Shane thought of what he would say to Beth. Or if he say anything at all. Again he looked over his shoulder to his tent, and swore under his breath. With a boot in each hand, he stood up and walked quietly to the tent. He unzipped the door, hoping that Beth was sleeping. He crawled inside, leaving the tent unzipped so he could see what he was doing. He threw his boots near the door, and his hat followed them.

The moonlight shone onto the two bodies, lying on the ground. Beth had her back to him, Micah was sleeping next to her. Both of them sharing the red sleeping bag he had grabbed for them from the ambulance. He couldn't see her face, but just decided to simply act like she was sleeping.

A long zip of the door, and the tent fell into darkness once again. He took off his shirt, and then with sigh laid down onto his sleeping bag. He glanced once more over at the 2 black blurs that belonged to Micah and Beth. Then he closed his eyes.

Snap.

Shane jerked awake, his hand clasped to his hip were his gun is usually kept. He immediately looked over to where Beth and Micah had been sleeping, but only to find that he was alone in the tent. A tiny hole of sunshine was falling into the tent, from the bottom the door which was not zipped up fully.

Grabbing a shirt from the small pile of clothes in the corner, he threw it on, and climbed out of the tent. The first thing he saw was the bright sun, and then once his eyes had focused, Lori crouching next to the fire.

She looked up at him. To anyone else it looked like her face was blank but Shane knew she was upset.  
"Where's Beth?" Shane asked, his hands on his sides.

Lori didn't answer him, and continued to stroke the fire.

"Lori?"

"Don't talk to me.."

Shane opened his mouth to talk but Lori spoke loudly. "No Shane." She stood up, wiped the dirt from her hands on her jeans and walked away.

He watched her as she walked away from him, up past the ambulance and into the house. The ambulance he thought, and he jogged towards it. He knocked on the door. No reply. Again, he knocked and still no reply.

Just as he went to knock again the front screen door creaked. He whipped around to find Beth walking down the porch steps, her head looking back at Daryl with Micah placed around his good side. She turned around so Shane could see her face, which was full on smiles. Once she saw him though, standing beside the ambulance, her smile slowly vanished.

She grabbed Daryl's hand, helping him and Micah sit down on the porch steps. "I'll be back." She said to Daryl, who squinted his eyes down to where Shane stood, arms crossed. Her black boots kicked up dust as she walked towards him.

Shane relaxed his stance as she came closer, lowering his arms. "Beth..."

"What are we doing Shane?"

"I didn't mean it. I ... everyone makes mistakes." Shane's eyebrows pushed together.

"I have a son. I can't risk anything. I couldn't then. And I certainly can't now."

Shane shook his head. "You need me as much as I need you."

"No, we don't. Micah has never needed a dad." She made quotation marks with her fingers when she said 'dad'.

Shane felt his shoulders drop a little lower.

"And if he did, he wouldn't need one like you. Micah already had a shitty dad. He doesn't need to be replaced."

Beth heard Shane let out a breathe as she walked away. And then crunch of his heavy steps getting farther and farther away.

Daryl was sitting down awkwardly on the top porch step, Micah sitting in between his legs. He didn't say anything as Beth plopped down next to him.

"Andrea was right about him. I should listen to her more often." Beth sighed.

Daryl made a face. "I don't know about that. If everyone did I would be dead."

They exchanged a long look but were interrupted by Micah, who had suddenly taken up the habit of touching Daryl's face constantly. He blew at Micah's little fingers, causing him to giggle furiously.

Beth ran her fingers through her hair, and then continued down to her jawline, and covered her mouth with her hands. She closed her eyes for a second, letting the pinkish tone of the inside of her eyelids surround her completely.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The horse stables reeked, even as far away as Glenn stood from them. He watched as Maggie walked in and unhooked the horse gear from the post they were tied to. The horses elegantly trotted behind her, their long manes shaking as they did.

He managed a sad smile to Maggie, but got a glare in return. She handed him a leather strap, and then turned to her own horse. There was a completely different feeling in the air on this trip, then there had been the first time Glenn and Maggie had gone to town.  
Remembering what he was taught, Glenn climbed onto the horse, almost gracefully.

"Hey, Glenn." It was a a husky voice, but a southern twain gave the owner away. Daryl hurried down the little dirt path that led to the stables.

Glenn was a little surprised at Daryl's presence, he hadn't seen him 10 feet from the house or his tent since he got hurt. Maggie just seemed outright annoyed by it. "Oh Daryl, hey." He tried to keep his tone casual.

"I heard ya'll were makin' another trip. And I wonder if you could get something for me."

She rolled her eyes. "Great, what do you want?"

He gave her a look before answering. "Actually it's for Beth. Well, Micah really." He saw Maggie's face soften a bit at the mention of their names, so he continued. "Well, she was telling me that Micah was having a hard time sleeping, 'cause he's got this rash and it irritates him, I guess."

Maggie nodded, "I'll see what I can find." She pulled the reins back, and her and the horse turned around down the path towards the green gate that lead out off of the farm land.

"Take this Glenn." Daryl said, as he reached down and grabbed his knife from his right boot, trying not to wince as he felt the stitches pull. Flipping it around in his hand, he offered it Glenn.

"Dude, it's good." Glenn shook his hand at Daryl. "What if something happened here? You'd need it." He gave him a quick smile, and then began to turn his horse around, following Maggie.

Daryl merely put the knife back into his sock, as he watched Glenn and Maggie through squinted eyes, as they rode up over the hill and then vanished. A shooting pain went through his side as he stood up again. But once again he just gritted his teeth and began making his way back to his tent.

It was almost worth it though, just going through the pain. It let him get out of the damn stuffy tent that he knows way to well. But it did have its consequences, the concerned looks everyone gave him and Carol. Especially Carol. He couldn't bare to look at her, after she came in to his room that one night, and thanked him even though he failed.  
Daryl could feel himself getting worked up, and he started to walk faster towards his tent.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He looked up and saw Beth, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Why'd you leave your tent?" She demanded, her tone was serious.

Daryl was a little shocked, and he stumbled upon his words. "I, uh, I wanted fresh air that's all."

"Daryl you just can't be walking around, your stitches are probably about to burst."

"Well, I don't care." Daryl said, shrugging his shoulders, looking at the dry grass under his feet.

"Well I do." He looked up at her face when she said this. "And I'm not gonna just start wasting my supplies."

"I've gone outta my tent before. What's the big deal?"

"I'm usually with you then, to make sure you don't hurt yourself." She scowled, and pointed to his tent. "Get in."

Daryl scowled even harder, and went back into the oh so familiar tent. He never had this feeling when he was a kid, but he figured this is what it felt like to be yelled at by your mother. Lying down on his right side, facing the wall of the tent, he left enough space for Beth to sit on the edge of the cot.

First, he heard the crunch of her feet on the tarp. Then the familiar zip of a bag being opened. The cot sank a little, as Beth sat down on it. He felt her fingers brush up against his skin as she pushed up his shirt, but it wasn't as gentle as it usually was. And with a quick snip and the bandages were cut off.

"Shit." She murmured under her breath. "And they bursted. Perfect." The sarcasm in her voice was as clear as day. She grabbed a cloth and began to clean off the blood, and the ripped stitches.

Daryl just continued to stare at his fingers, picking at his dirty finger nails. A needle glided into his side, rubbing up against the newly broken skin. He clenched his hand into a fist, leaving little crescent moon shapes in the palm of his hand from his nails.

"Sorry." Beth breathed.

"It don't hurt." He said automatically, though through his teeth.

"No, not that." She stopped sewing in the stitches for a moment, casually leaning her hands up against his hip. Daryl didn't say a word.

"It's just everything, you know? Like this morning, and then Micah. And then Glenn."

"What the chinaman do?" He asked curiously.

Beth rolled her eyes at the name and started sewing the stitches again, a little more gentle then she was before. "Nothing. I just wanted to see if I there was something he could get for Micah, but he was already gone by the time I went go find him."

He felt a slight pull of the thread, and looked down to see a finished set of fresh stitches, surrounded by a patch of shiny, red irritated skin. Beth was putting everything back into a little bag. "I took care of that." He said. She raised her eyebrows at him, before he continued. "That's why I was out of the tent. I tried to catch Glenn before he left. Took me a while, but I got there at the right time."

"Oh. Thanks."

Daryl twisted his body around to face her. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't all there, her mind wandering and racing. It used to happen to Meryl all the time, so he just said what he always did to him. "S'all good." He rubbed her hand with his, and said, "I won't waste these stitches, promise."

"Better not." She said, letting the serious thoughts slip out of her mind, and forming a cheeky smile on her face. "I'll see ya later Dawyl." She mimicked Micah's little voice as she left the tent, leaving him with a smile on his face.

There wasn't a cloud in the pale blue sky, and the sun was high in the sky by now. The camp seemed quieter then usual, everyone was hushed up in their tents or in the farmhouse. Everyone except Andrea. Beth ran into her as she headed away from Daryl's tent.

Andrea looked down at the ground when she saw Beth coming up the path.

"Hey." Beth said, her tone casual.

"Hi."

"Whatcha got there?" She pointed to the book in Andrea's hands.

"Just a book. Figured I'd give it to Daryl, give him something to do." Andrea used her thumb to flip through the pages quickly.

"Good idea. He's bored as shit in there." Beth let out a silent laugh. They stood awkwardly in silence on the dirt path, surrounded by the lush green grass. "You know what Andrea, I'm not mad at you."

"What?" Andrea's voice cracked.

"I'm mad at myself. Not you. I shoulda listened to you." Beth let out a sad laugh. "It's him. Not you."

"You sure?" She was hesitant.

Beth nodded silently, and the passed her and headed up the side of the house, leaving Andrea by herself. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked out the lonesome tent sitting in between the tall trees. Through the screen mesh of the tent window, she could see a black figure, lying down with small movement.

The crunch of her steps on the ground, caused Daryl to whip his head around and look out through the mesh, his fingers up against the mesh. Andrea let out another big breath of air, before stepping to the tent. Lying on his bed, with a sole arrow in his hands turning it over and over.

Smiling awkwardly, she spoke, "Hey." He felt his eyes pierce through her. She moved her tapped the book together on her hand before speaking again. "This isn't that great but, umm..." Handing him the book, she looked at his face, waiting.

Flipping his through the pages with his thumbs, giving the book a quick glance before putting it down next to him. "What, no pictures?"

Andrea crossed her brows in confusion, before Daryl smiled at her. She laughed, almost of relief. But the smile quickly slipped away, and was replaced with a serious face. "I'm so sorry. I feel like shit."

"Yeh, you and me both." Lifting his arm up behind him, he carefully grabbed his pillow and readjusted himself, so he wasn't fully lying down.

"I don't except you to forgive me, but if there is anything I can do." Andrea said, her voice as sincere as could be.

"You were protecting the group, we're good." He nodded to her, giving her a half smile.

She smiled at him wholeheartedly. The two people that she was so petrified to confront, had both been so forgiving. It was weird, but she didn't question it. Just as she was stepping out the tent, he spoke again.

"But hey. You shoot me again, best pray I'm dead." He said, raising his eyebrows.

Letting out a soft laugh, Andrea went to walk away, but stopped again at the sound of Daryl's voice. "Andrea."

Poking her head around the corner of the tent door, she listened.

He looked down at the floor, blinking. "It would help if you just, just, " he stuttered slightly. "Watch out for Beth 'n' Micah. It would give me a bit of peace of mind, I guess."

"Yes sure. Got it." She gave him a nod, and finally left the tent, leaving the screen mesh open.

He dropped the arrow down next to the cot, on the ground. Rolling over onto his good side, Daryl wrapped his arms around the pillow, hugging it, and closed his eyes, forcing himself to get the sleep that he knew he needed so desperately.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

The pounding of her heart, and the trotting steps of her horse was all that Maggie could hear. She had never feared the walkers, she had barely even been up close to one until today. The sickly feeling of the walker's fingers wouldn't leave her skin. The sound of its shallow, scratchy breathing wouldn't leave her ears.

As she pulled into through the front gate of the farm land, the first thing Maggie saw was the circle of tents sitting in the trees. Anger flashed through Maggie's body, and she rode her horse faster towards the stables. The sound of the hoof's of the horse carrying Glenn were close enough to hear.

Racing to the stables like this reminded her of when she was little, and used to race with her stepbrother. But she pushed away the fond member, all she wanted to do was give Lori a piece of her mind.

Maggie tied the reins of her horse onto one of the wooden posts of the stable as quickly as possible, and then began running through the field back towards camp, clutching the paper brown bag in her hands. She had barely noticed Glenn following her through the field until he grabbed her hand.

"Maggie, please wait."

"No. We almost died because we just had to get her stuff!"

"It wasn't only her who needed stuff."

"No I'm done with this." Ripping her hand away from Glenn, she ran away from him taking huge steps to get away from him. She threw the small gate that led into the fields open.

"Hey! We got your stuff!"

Lori looked over at to Maggie, only recognizing her volume not her tone, and quickly folded up the shirt that she had in her hands, placing it on the pile of the laundry sitting next to her.

"Maggie, hang on. Please!" Glenn begged.

"Come - come on in here." Lori beckoned towards the tent.

"Why nothing to hide?!" Maggie snarled, she reached into the bag and started throwing items down onto the ground, before throwing down the entire bag. "We got your special delivery right here. We got your lotion, got your conditioner, your soap opera digest."

"Maggie?!" Lori was taken aback by her tone, she had never seen her like this.

"Next time you want something get your god damn self. We're not your errand boys!" Maggie said, nostrils flared, eyebrows crossed.

"Hunny, I ..." Lori shook her head.

Maggie reached down and grabbed a small white package off of the ground. "And here's your abortion pills." She shoved them into Lori's hand, and then pushed Glenn out of her way as she stalked off of the camp grounds.  
Trees whipped past her out of the corner of her eye, as she marched down the tree line along the fence. Breathing deeply, Maggie tried to calm herself down. She wasn't upset about the fact that the walker got her, she finally understood that at times like this, stuff like that happens all the time. The groups role for Glenn was what made her angry. They treated him like a pawn on a chess board, invaluable, just someone to send up front 'cause no one else will go.

She heard a crunch of leaves behind her and realized that Glenn had followed her when she walked away. Stopping in her tracks, she turned around to face him. He spoke first.

"That was not cool."

"Which part? That part where that bitch almost got us killed?" Maggie snarled.

Glenn rubbed his face. "I should've gone alone. If you wanna blame anybody blame me."

"Right, take the blame." Maggie shook her head. "You know for a smart guy you're really stupid." She put emphasis on the last word.

Squinting his eyes, Glenn tried to comprehend what she just said. "Kay, I'm confused because I think you just paid me a compliment but you made it sound like-."

But Maggie interrupted him with a kiss, grabbing the back of his neck and bringing him in close to her. Pulling away from him, their lips made the smallest noise.

"I've already lost three of the people I care about most in this world." She stared right into Glenn's eyes, holding his face.

"Maggie..." He interrupted.

"Shut up." Maggie looked down at the ground before looking up again, her eyebrows pushed together. "You're smart. You're brave. You're a leader. But you don't know it, and your friends don't want to know it, they'd rather have you fetching peaches."

Glenn stared at her blankly. This is not where he thought this conversation was going.

"There's a dead guy in the well? Send Glenn down." Maggie let out a loud breath. "You're walker bait. And I can't take you becoming one of them." She bit the inside of her lip, and then walked away.

Maggie rubbed her hands with her face as she made her way up to the house. She felt so many emotions right now she just needed a moment to think about it. As she walked past the tents, she glanced to where she had stood just several moments before. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the brown paper bag crumpled on to the ground. Remembering that there was other products in the bag, she wandered over to it and picked it up. Clutching the crumpled brown bag to her chest, Maggie made her way into her house barely even acknowledging where she was putting her feet. The stairs that led to the upstairs creaked under her weight, as did Maggie's bedroom door when she opened it.

The room had barely changed in the past five years. A double bed was shoved into the corner, frilly striped sheets on it. Frames covered the walls, filled with photographs of family and friends, the city and the farm. Placing the paper bag onto a wooden dresser, Maggie sat down on the edge of her bed with a sigh.

A light knock came from the other side of the door, which was then followed by s soft voice. "Maggie?" The door creaked again as Beth opened the door. Her face was full of concern when she saw Maggie, while Micah's was full of curiosity. "Hunny, what's wrong?"

"I just ..." Maggie finally lost it, and hot tears came rolling down her full cheeks. Beth moved over to her side quickly, joining her one the edge of the bed. Sitting Micah on her lap, Beth used her free hand to rub Maggie's back, trying to calm her down.

"It was so close today Beth." Maggie voice was a whisper. "It was so scary."

"You're okay now though right? You and Glenn are both safe on the farm." Beth's voice was calm. Maggie nodded, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "You won't have to go back into town if you don't want to okay? I'll go next time."

Maggie looked up at her. "You can't go. What about Micah?"

"We can trade off. Take turns, no?" Beth offered.

"I guess," Maggie said, looking down at Micah. His little face was tired, and red. His eyes fluttering every once and a while. Leaning off of the bed, she reached up over to the dresser and grabbed the brown bag. "Daryl asked us to grab this for Micah." She handed over a small, pink bottle of baby lotion. "I hope it will help, he looks exhausted."

Beth took the bottle gratefully, a smile on her face. "Do you mind if I put it on now?"

"Oh, sure." Maggie lifted herself off of the bed, putting her hands in her jean pockets.

Beth placed Micah on the bed, on top of a small soft, wool blanket and began taking off his little clothes. Micah stretched out, knitting his fingers in through the loops of the blanket. Taking the smallest amount of lotion, Beth rubbed her hands together and then began to gently rub it in onto Micah's legs.

"It's funny, Lori and Carol go through what they do everyday with Carl being shot, and .. and Sophia being missing. But Micah gets a rash and is a little overtired and I start blubbering." Beth let out a sad laugh.

"Oh they did too, you just missed it." Maggie gave her a nod, reassuring her. "You're a mom. If you didn't blubber, it wouldn't be natural."

Smiling, Beth ran her fingers up and down Micah's leg, watching as his eyes fluttered open and close. "Perfect. It worked like a gem." She breathed.

"Just take the blanket and bring him down into one of the tents. You could both use the sleep." Maggie went over to Beth, and hugged her. It seemed like right now, Beth was just that one concrete person in the group.

Scooping up Micah in the wool blanket, Beth pushed him up against her chest. She felt him move himself closer to her, nuzzling into her neck. Giving Maggie one last smile, she left the room and made her way down the stairs, looking over past Micah at the stairs underneath her. As she reached the front of the house, Beth felt Micah's head lean up against her shoulder and looked down at his sleeping face, his mouth slightly open. Rubbing her check on the top of his head, she let of a sigh of happiness.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

The fading sun casted a slight gold tone across the farm. Watching the silhouettes of a couple, leaning up against the crooked fence that surrounded the fields, Shane couldn't shake of the anger in him. First Dale attacks him about Andrea and Ottis, now he was to stand there and look at this.

It was Lori and Rick. He knew those two from any distance. He watched as their body language continued to change, as their conversation continued. In the pit of his stomach, Shane knew that whatever they were talking about was not good news. And almost definitely involved him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shane saw a figure moving. Glancing to the side, across to where Daryl's tent sat, he found himself staring at another unmistakable silhouette. Without thinking he marched towards it, not knowing what he would even say to her. Or rather if she would listen.

As he walked closer to the tent, he let himself take her in from the distance. Beth had on a tight, white tank top and a pair of dirty jeans. She was bent over to the side, trying to pull on a pair of boots. Noticing the shadow coming towards her, Beth looked over to where Shane stood.

"Whatcha doing?" Shane said.

Beth stared at him in silence, and then looked back at her boots.

"What you never gonna talk to me again? Just gonna avoid me." His southern drawl began to come out more and more.

"No." She said it clearly, and loudly. Crossing her eyebrows, she began tying her boots again. Suddenly the setting sun vanished behind the tree line, replacing the golden glow of the setting sun, with the harsh white light of the moon.

Shane watched as she finished, and stood up. Noticing her free hands he asked, "Where's Micah?"

Beth wiped her hands off on the front of her jeans, adding more marks of dirt. "With Daryl." She used her thumb to point behind her.

Jealousy replaced Shane's anger immediately. "Oh what, you sleeping with the redneck now?"

"No." Beth was taken aback by Shane's tone. "What's it to you anyways?"

Staring at the ground Shane shook his head. "Nothing."

Letting out a short breath, Beth spoke. "Daryl just cares. You should try it sometime."

Turning around, Beth walked straight back to the tent she had just left not two minutes before. She kept her boots on, not in the mood to take them off and deal with the laces again.

Daryl stared up at her, confused. "I thought you were gonna go for a bit?"

"I changed my mind." She forced a small smile on her face. Daryl had enough problems. He didn't need to hear about her problems with Shane.

Daryl smiled back, but it was more genuine then hers. He seemed to be smiling a lot more lately, and it was an odd sight for everyone. It was hard for Beth to pin point why exactly, if it was because of Micah, or even her. But she decided it was because his wounds were finally healing, and that any day now he would be up and about, maybe even tomorrow. He had been restless for the past couple of days.

Micah was laying on Daryl's chest, his little body moving up and down as Daryl took a breath. His little eyes fluttered at the sound of his mother's voice, but they remained closed.

Beth moved forward, kneeling on the ground in front of Daryl's cot. Grabbing Micah's chubby leg, she ran her thumb up and down the skin his soft, baby skin. Sliding her hand down, she absently started feeling Daryl's side through the rough material of his shirt. Realizing what she was doing, Beth made it look like she was checking his stitches. Daryl noticed her touch, and shifted up the bed gently, as if not to wake Micah.

Pulling aside his shirt, Beth found herself staring at a patch of red, shiny new skin. The stitches had fully dissolved, and in their place had left merely a scar. Running her fingers over the smooth patch and raised scar. Daryl watched intently, waiting patiently for Beth to speak.

"Stitches are gone, hopefully for good if you don't do anything stupid again." She gave him a look, her eyes serious but smirk playful. "Your ribs seem fine too."

Daryl went to sit up, he was itching to get out of the tent. But he remembered the sleeping Micah that laid across his chest, and he began to move back down.

Beth noticed the smallest amount of disappointment on his face. "You don't have to stay Daryl. I can take him." Beth went to move Micah gently, but his little fist tightened onto Daryl's plaid shirt and he let out a small sound.

Looking down at Micah's fluttering eyelids, and open mouth Daryl felt a feeling of warmth spread through his chest. "No don't. I can wait."

Beth went to open her mouth when suddenly a twig snapped outside. Her and Daryl whipped their heads in the direction of the sound, their hands touching as they both had automatically reached for Micah. The sound of grass being crushed under feet grew nearer and nearer to the open tent door. Slipping her left hand into her back pocket, she clutched onto her pocket knife.

A hand reached around the tarp covering the door, and they both noticed it to be completely human - no decaying skin or bites. Relaxing, Beth watched as Carol poked her head around the corner.

"Oh Beth." Carol breathed. "Could we," Carol hesitated, and looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "Could we talk for a moment?"

Beth's eyebrows pushed together, her face full of concern. "Oh of course."

Carol watched as Beth squeezed Daryl's hand slightly, before using the edge of the bed to stand up. They walked out of the tent silently.

It was now very dark outside, the moon illuminated the farm land, which was eerily silent across, as everyone had already crawled into their tents or beds. Beth looked up at the sky, watching the stars as the blinked. Carol sniffled and wrapped her arms around her frail body. But she moved her hands close to her chest, clutching something in her hand.

Moving her eyes from the stars to Carol, Beth spoke, "What's wrong?" She moved forward, rubbing her bare arms.

"I just - I have this feeling Beth." Carol said, her voice barely a whisper. "It feels like she's gone."

"What?" Beth moved her face so she could try to see Carol's better. Her eyes were wide, and empty. Her mouth was curved into a grimace. "No, she's not. She's out there somewhere."

Carol continued to look down at the ground, not responding to Beth's words.

"No, we're still looking for her. I'll go. I'll go tomorrow as soon as I wake up Carol. I promise."

"You can't. You have Micah." Carol shook her head.

"Micah has people who will care for him. Just like Sophia does." Beth pulled Carol into her, hugging her tightly. "I'll find her. We'll all find her." She pet the back of her head, feeling Carol's short hair.

Carol pulled away first, a sad smile shining through her tears. She opened her fist, revealing a pale yellow hair clip. "I used to do her hair for her every morning. I'd brush it, and braid it." She let out a small sound. "I guess I should get to the RV."

"I'll walk you if you want." Beth suggested. But Carol shook her head, and walked away, shoulders hunched. Beth watched her silhouette all the way until she reached the RV and she was the the soft glow of a lantern inside. Knowing that Carol was safe, Beth returned back into the tent quietly.

Beth reached down blindly to take her boots off, hopefully for the last time for the night. Daryl had turned the lantern off, and with the tent zipped shut it was now pitch black inside. Stumbling forward, Beth felt around softness of the sleeping bags underneath her feet.

Climbing into one of the sleeping bags, she felt the tiny shifting of a body next to her. Beth pulled Micah in close to her, letting him rest his head on her chest. Trying to get comfortable, Beth bumped into something which stirred.

Daryl let out a small noise, and moved his body before going back to sleep. He had decided to sleep on the floor, rather then his cot. Beth pushed her eyebrows together in confusion, but then decided not to question it. Laying her head down, Beth closed her eyes waiting for sleep to come over her.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

The clanking of forks on plates echoed over the green fields of the farm, and the smell of fire and cooking eggs spread throughout the campsite. Everyone sits in silence, chewing the eggs Carol had made slowly and thoughtfully.

Glenn leans against a tree, allowing himself to take in the group. Andrea sits on a tree stump sharpening her knife, attempting to look more bad ass. Shane stands alone bitterly, his plate to his chin as he shovels the eggs into his mouth. T-Dog sits nursing a hot drink. Carl sits on a foldable chair, his legs swinging a little as they barely reach the ground. While Lori reaches across to Rick, who had an empty expression across his face. She caresses it, and then whispers something in his ear. Pushing herself up off of her knees, Carol wanders over and shyly offers Daryl more eggs. Daryl accepts them, and hands his plate over to Beth, who was attempting to feed Micah.

"Here give him to me." Daryl said softly, not wanting the attention of the group.

"He just won't eat." Beth said in exhaustion.

"You have to eat too." He gave her a quick look, and they made the exchange. Micah ended up on his lap and a plate of soft, fluffy eggs end up in Beth's hands.

Lastly Glenn looks to the RV, where Dale sits on the edge of the steps, his hat hiding his old, wise eyes. Raising his face, Dale reveals his eyes and gives Glenn a stern nod. He made one last look towards the farm house porch, where Maggie stood - arms crossed, scowl across her face - before turning around to face the group. He let out a sigh before he began.

"Uh, guys." Glenn rubs his face, feeling the stubble that had grown in in the past couple of days. Only a couple faces looked up at the sound of his voice. Most continued to stare down at their eggs, eating away. In frustration, Glenn blurts out, "So the barn is full of walkers."

That gets there attention. Daryl stops mid-chew, and T-Dog almost spits out his drink. But nobody's reaction was a severe as Rick's. His nostrils flared, and jaw set together. "Pardon?"

"The barn. It's full of walkers." Glenn looked between Rick and Shane, waiting for one of them to erupt.

Without a moments hesitation Shane threw his tin plate to the ground and started running towards the barn. Eggs scattered across the floor, and then tin made a small noise when it fell. Rick jumped out of his seat and ran after him.

The others quickly put down their plates and scurried after the two. Lori grabbed ahold of Carl's hand before he could sprint ahead of the rest to catch up with his father. Beth clutched Micah to her hip, and walked briskly with Carol glued to her other side. The men led them, keeping an eye on Shane and Rick, running through the fields, ruining the grass behind them.

Once they all reached the barn, they fell silent. Most were wary of the barn, standing back from it. Lori kept Carl behind her, but he continued to peer over. The men made a lined up facing the barn, with Andrea joining in on the end, her arms crossed over her chest.

Shane peers into a crack between the wooden panels of the barn, his baseball cap in his hands. After a walker came up and stares through the crack back at Shane, he barely flinched and walked back to Rick, shoulders set. "You cannot tell me you are alright with this."

"No I'm not. But we're guests here, this isn't our land." Rick pointed at the ground beneath his feet.

"God! This is our lives, man!" Shane threw his hands in the air.

"Lower your voice!" Glenn hushed.

"We just can't sweep this under the rug!" Andrea said, her eyebrows crossing, matching her arms.

"It ain't right. Not remotely. We have got to go in there, and makes thing right." Shane places his baseball cap back on his head, casting a shadow over his eyes. "Or we gotta go. We've been talking about Fort Benedict for a long time now -"

Rick interrupted Shane. "We can't go."

"Why not Rick?! Why?" Shane was getting angry, pacing back and forth.

Rick shook his head. This is not how he wanted it to go, he couldn't do this to Lori, not now. But before he could open his mouth Carol stepped forward.

Thinking of what Beth had said to her last night about Sophia, she spoke. "'Cause my daughter's still out there." Beth grabbed Carol's shoulder with her free hand.

Shane let out a sad laugh, and then rubbed his face. Beth shot him a look, but he continued. "Okay, Carol. I think its time that we just, consider the other possibility -"

Rick interrupted him again. "Shane! We're not leaving Sophia behind."

Daryl stepped out from beside Beth. "I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago."

Beth debated who to put her hand on, Carol or Daryl. They both were getting upset. Looking at Carol's face, she kept her hand on Carol's shoulder, letting her know that she was there.

Shane laughed again. "You found her doll Daryl. You found a doll!

"You don't know the hell you're talking about." Daryl moved forward towards Shane, his body language changing drastically. Beth suddenly regretted choosing to hold onto Carol.

Shane yells over top of Daryl, "I'm just saying what needs to be said here! You know you get a lead for the first forty-eight hours, and that's it."

Rick could feel how tense it was getting, and he walked between to the two "Alright, alright. Shane that's enough."

But he continued yelling. "Lemme tell you something else man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming, all methed out, with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck. She'd run in the other direction!" His voice was loud, and his hands were making big movements.

"Shut up!" Daryl lunged towards Shane, throwing his arms at him. They both tried grabbing at each other, but not before Rick stepped in pushing Shane away.

"Hey! Hey!" Glenn pushed Daryl away before turning to help Rick with Shane, who had seemed to have completely lost control.

Daryl looked back at Beth and Carol, both of their faces filled with concern. Then he continued to look down at his boots, ignoring the shouts and threats coming from Shane.

"I'll kick your ass!" Shane continued to yell, as he was pushed farther away from Daryl.

"Back off!" Rick yelled, pointing at him. Shane ripped away from Rick's grasp.

Lori grabbed his shoulder, and he jerked. "Keep your hands off me." He said through gritted teeth. His fists were clenched, and he was breathing deeply.

"Just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out." Rick said, his body language changing.

"Then what are you gonna figure out?!" Shane screamed, the veins in his neck exposed, spit flying out his mouth.

"Enough." Lori pushed Shane's chest, and his face dropped.

"If we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it." It was getting hard for Rick to stay calm. Every time he looked at Shane's flaring nostrils, and closed fists it made him feel like joining in on the fight. "This is his land!"

Dale stepped forward, speaking of reason. "Hershel sees those things in there as people. Sick people. His wive! His.. his... his stepson."

"You knew?" Rick questioned.

Dale nodded. "Yesterday, I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane accused.

"I thought we could survive one more night." Dale raised his voiced, suddenly fed up with whatever was coming out of Shane's mouth. "We did."

"I was waiting till this morning to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one."

"This man is crazy Rick. Whether Hershel thinks they are alive or not!"

"No!" Rick yelled, matching his voice to Shane's.

Suddenly there was a huge thud, and the barn doors bulged open. The walkers inside pushed with all their might, to get at the yelling voices that were just outside those old barn doors.

Instantly, Daryl reached his hand back towards Beth and Micah, gently began pushing them away from the doors. Lori whipped around to where Carl stood by himself, his hands covering his ears.

The others began to back up slightly, while Shane and Glenn stepped forward in front of the group. Yet Rick stood firm, his feet planted. But his face fell, despite the rest of his body standing strong.


End file.
